A walk along the Fife Coastal Path from Guardbridge to Newport via Tentsmuir on a fine winter's day
Date: 14 February 2026
Distance: 23.96km
Ascent: 115m
Time: 6.8hrs
Weather: Light winds, blue skies and winter sunshine
Route: View on OS Maps
I left the car under inky black skies and sub-zero temperatures, heading eastward along the A91 through a sleepy Dollar and Muckhart. An owl was flying low over the fields by the Devon just beyond the Crook of Devon, silhouetted against the first hints of dawn in the eastern sky. The temperatures got as low as -5oC but thankfully the roads were mostly dry, ice only appearing in a few places where there had been standing water.
The sun rose as I followed the A92 northeast, finally dropping into the little town of Newport-on-Tay which sits on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, facing Dundee. Just behind the main street I found some convenient parking and after a quick pause to don hat and gloves, was soon retracing my steps, this time on foot, back out of town to the Forgan Roundabout where I would catch the 99 Stagecoach busto Guardbridge. This bus links Dundee and St Andrews with a service roughly every ten minutes, even fairly early on a Saturday, and so I only had a very short wait at the bus stop.
The journey took less than 15 minutes, passing through Leuchars and its railway station before winding through Guardbridge and crossing the River Eden. On the far side I jumped off the bus and now started to retrace the outward journey, crossing back across the river via the footbridge. On the water there were oyster catchers and a heron. The sun was just rising, catching the rising plumes of mist from the Eden Mill distillery further along the river.
I picked up the way-marked Fife Coastal Path which followed a pleasant footpath behind Guardbridge's main street, before passing through some parkland and then coming back to the main road to cross it just before Leuchars Station. The road wound along between army residences and base buildings, before finally bringing me into Leuchars itself at the church of St Athernase.
I was at the meeting point in plenty of time and spotted a small high street that offered up a Spar selling breakfast rolls and coffee. With these in hand I headed back up to the church and found a spot on the perimeter wall that was catching the warmth of the rising sun and here I sat to wait for the Stocket Hillwalking Club, coming down from Aberdeen.
Their coach pulled up below the churchyard and after a bit of gear faffing we were off, making our way out of Leuchars on the Fife Coastal Path towards Tentsmuir forest. Initially this was down a quiet road but we turned off into parkland where a few early morning dog walkers were enjoying the sunshine.
Further on we passed a farm where there were goats feeding on a pair of trampolines. Beyond the end of the farm track we turned off onto a narrow path that crossed a marshy area over very nice boardwalks. This path ran arrow straight before taking a left turn and then bobbling over undulating ground to finally meet the access road into Tentsmuir.
We now followed the road in to the main car park at Tentsmuir where there is a £4 charge for vehicular access. Annoyingly there is no footpath access so we spent most of the time looking behind us and getting out of the way of cars. Shortly before the car park itself we stopped in the woods for a tea break. The warm sunshine felt wonderful after weeks of cloud and drizzle.
After another short stop at the car park we turned left to follow the main path through the reserve. It runs in a near straigh line parallel to the shore between tall pines with occasional glimpses to the right of sand and the distant sea. We passed the remains of the ice house and a small memorial stone before emerging from the woods at Tentsmuir Point where past storm damage has taken out a lot of trees.
We finally reached the shore at the Tay estuary where there were fine views across the water to Broughty Ferry with the snow-coated Sidlaw hills forming a wintry backdrop under blue skies. Inland there was a hint of cloud building back up.
We stopped here for lunch. Despite the snowy views it was wonderfully warm in the sunshine with hardly a breath of wind. I wandered across the sandflats to reach the edge of the water.
The Fife Coastal Path now turns westward to follow the north shore of the Tay, first along the edge of the pinewoods and then along the grassy foreshore into the small town of Tayport. Closer to civilisation there were more people out walking and cycling and generally enjoying the beautiful day. The waters of the Tay were just about perfect, with just the slightest ripples.
After walking through a caravan park and along the narrow edge of the foreshore between peoples gardens and the rocky beach we threaded our way around Tayport harbour and marina. There were some pretty little historical cottages at the far end.
After this there was the one short steep climb of the day which led to a short section of road walking before dropping down through grassy scrubland to join a shared path running west towards Newport. Along this stretch of the Tay there are a couple of old lighthouses - East and West Tayport Lights - that are now private residences.
After some distance the Tay Road Bridge came into view along with the centre of Dundee itself across the water. After a stretch along the roadside on a pavement we came under the bridge and into the streets of Newport. There is a series of small parks and paths that follow the shore which drops steeply down to the water. In the distance we could see the rail bridge.
The walk ended at the Newport Inn right on the waterfront and from here it was just a short distance back uphill to where I had parked the car.
The excellent weather had held for most of the day but now a thin sheet of cloud was obscuring the sun and it felt colder again. Although snow was forecast I had an uneventful drive back under steely skies once more. An excellent day out.
